This is an updated version of my original guide on how to remap keyboard keys on OS X.
Here’s how to remap any of your keyboard keys to any combination of keys on Mac OS X. Initially, I wanted to remap the Caps Lock
key to Command+R
for two reasons:
- I’m always hitting
Command+R
for building and running iOS apps and to refresh web pages Caps Lock
is otherwise entirely useless
Here are the steps and workarounds I used to get what I wanted. I’ve essentially remapped the Insert
, Home
, Page Up
, Delete
, End
and Page Down
, and Caps Lock
keys into a useful macro block.
- Download the latest version of KeyRemap4MacBook; it’s pretty much the only decent key remapper for Mac. Despite its horrible name, it is insanely flexible and powerful.
- Install KeyRemap4Macbook as per the instructions on their website.
- Download PCKeyboardHack if you want to remap the
Caps Lock
key. - Open PCKeyboardHack (from the Launchpad), and under the Caps Lock section select Change Caps Lock.
- Change the
keycode
in the right hand column to ‘110’. - Open KeyRemap4MacBook from
~/Applications
. - Scroll down to ‘For PC Users’, expand it, expand ‘Change PC Application Key’.
- Select whatever key you want the Caps Lock key to remap to (I set it to ‘Application Key to Command_L’).
Not exactly perfect, right? There’s a very limited selection of keys you can remap to. Don’t worry, with a little .xml hacking we can get it to do what we want (in a way). For those of you who are happy to just use it like this, don’t worry about the next bit. For this section, we are going to introduce user-defined key remapping.
- In KeyRemap4MacBook click ‘Misc & Uninstall’ in the top tab bar.
- Click ‘Open private.xml’ to open it in Finder.
- Open the
private.xml
file in TextEdit. - Open this private.xml file in your browser. Copy and paste the code from this remote file to replace the contents of the local
private.xml
file. The basic syntax for adding a new remapping is this:
- Replace
STARTKEY
with some key from this list. Make sure you use the uppercase name in the left column to replaceKEYTOSTART
. (KeyCode::
must be left as it is.) As an example, here is what I used to remap
Caps Lock
(i.e.PC_APPLICATION
) toCommand+R
:- Save the
private.xml
file. - Go back to KeyRemap4MacBook and hit ‘ReloadXML’ and your newly defined remaps should appear at the top of the list.
- Select the one you want.
- Try it out.
- Look through this page for more comprehensive documentation of what you can achieve.
- Keep defining new remaps until you’ve got exactly what you want.
This is an updated version of my original guide on how to remap keyboard keys on OS X. Here’s how to remap any of your keyboard keys to any combination of keys on Mac OS X. Initially, I wanted to remap the Caps Lock key to Command+R for two reasons: I’m always hitting Command+R for building and running iOS apps and to refresh web pages. If you don't like the way your keyboard is laid out, a keyboard remapper can change it. There are only a few for Mac OS X, and the lack of development on many of your options makes your choice. BlueStacks is quite simple to install and use for playing android games or using android applications on Your Windows 10 PC or Mac Laptop. No prior guidance is required to use this emulator. On the downside, BlueStacks may slow down the speed of your device depending upon the configuration and system compatibility.
Twitter or Facebook. The BlueStacks application player for Mac can be configured to work with your google play account as the environment operates Android apps, so you can access all your favorite apps and games! Bluestacks Mac OS X OverView: The Android operating system is put on your desktop by BlueStacks. In this tutorial, I show you how to enable Key Repeats on your Mac. Instead of pressing a button over and over to type a character more than one time, you can now hold the key down, to type a.
So, eventually, we worked out a way to remap any key we want to another key or combination of keys. It works really well, and it’s probably good for RSI or something. At the very least, we’ve satisfied our laziness.
For anyone interested, here is my full private.xml
file:
For more information on the full power of the private.xml
file, check out the reference manual (thanks to @jnlevitan for the tip).
I’d love to hear your favourite key remappings, feel free to share them with me on Twitter.
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Type | Private company |
---|---|
Industry | Virtualization, mobile software |
Genre | |
Founded | April 25, 2009; 11 years ago[1][2][3] |
Founders | Rosen Sharma, Jay Vaishnav, Suman Saraf[4][3] |
Headquarters | , United States |
Worldwide | |
Key people |
|
Products | App Player, GamePop |
Website | www.bluestacks.com |
BlueStacks Client with Androidhome screen open as of September 2014. | |
Stable release | |
---|---|
Operating system | Windows 7 or later;[6]macOS Sierra or later[7] |
Platform | IA-32, x86-64 |
Size | 442 MB |
Available in | 48 languages |
Type | |
License | Freeware |
Website | www.bluestacks.com |
BlueStacks is an American technology company that produces the BlueStacks App Player and other cloud-based cross-platform products. The BlueStacks App Player is designed to enable Android applications to run on PCs running Microsoft Windows and Apple's macOS. The company was founded in 2009 by Jay Vaishnav, Suman Saraf, and Rosen Sharma, former CTO at McAfee and a board member of Cloud.com.
Investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Redpoint, Samsung, Intel, Qualcomm, Citrix, Radar Partners, Ignition Partners, AMD, and others.[8]
Bluestacks Mac Os X 10.10.5
The company was announced May 25, 2011, at the Citrix Synergy conference in San Francisco. Citrix CEO Mark Templeton demonstrated an early version of BlueStacks onstage and announced that the companies had formed a partnership. The public alpha version of App Player was launched on October 11, 2011.[9] App Player exited beta on June 7, 2014.
App Player[edit]
The App Player, software that virtualizes an Android OS, can be downloaded in versions for Windows 10 and macOS. The software's basic features are free to download and use. Advanced optional features require a paid monthly subscription.[10] The company claims the App Player can run 1.5 million Android apps as of November 2019.[11] As of November 2019, BlueStacks have been downloaded over 210 million times.[12] App Player features mouse, keyboard, and external touchpad controls.
Bluestacks Mac Os Catalina
BlueStacks for Mac[edit]
On June 27, 2012, the company released an alpha-1 version of its App Player software for macOS,[13] while the beta version was released on December 27, 2012.
In April 2015, BlueStacks, Inc. announced that a new version of App Player for macOS, 2.0, was in development, which was released in July.[14]
BlueStacks 2[edit]
In December 2015, BlueStacks, Inc. released the new version BlueStacks 2.0[15] which lets users run multiple Android applications simultaneously.[16] BlueStacks 2.0 was also available for Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks or later, till 2018.
Bluestacks Download For Macbook
BlueStacks TV (BTV)[edit]
On April 7, 2016, the company released BlueStacks TV which integrated Twitch.tv directly into the BlueStacks App Player.[17] This addition allows users to stream their apps to Twitch without the need for extra hardware or software. BlueStacks released Facebook Live integration in September 2016, allowing users to stream their gameplay to their Facebook profiles, Pages they control, or Facebook Groups they belong to.[18]
BlueStacks 3[edit]
In July 2017, BlueStacks released BlueStacks 3 based on a brand new engine and front-end design.[19] BlueStacks 3 added App Center which personalizes game suggestions, an account system, chat, new keymapping interface, and multi-instance. Multi-instance allows users to launch multiple BlueStacks windows using either the same or different Google Play account.
BlueStacks 3N[edit]
On January 19, 2018, BlueStacks announced the release of the BlueStacks + N Beta which runs on Android 7 (Android Nougat) and claimed to be the first and only Android gaming platform to have Android 7 at the time, since the majority of Android emulators ran Android 4.4 (KitKat), including prior BlueStacks versions.[20] This beta version is powered by an upgraded 'HyperG' graphics engine allowing BlueStacks to utilize the full array of Android 7 APIs
BlueStacks 4[edit]
On September 18, 2018, BlueStacks announced the release of its latest flagship version, BlueStacks 4. BlueStacks 4 benchmarks 6-8x faster than every major mobile phone according to the Antutu benchmark.[21] BlueStacks 4 also includes dynamic resource management which only initializes the required Android libraries thus freeing resources. A new dock and search offer a clean user interface. New AI powered key-mapping tool auto maps keys in supported games with key customization also available for further tweaking. In addition, BlueStacks 4 supports[22] both 32-bit and 64-bit version of Android 7.1.2 Nougat.
Development for macOS has been restarted, and version 4 is currently available from the website as of November 2019, first released for Mac in January 2019.[23]
BlueStacks 4 64-Bit Beta[edit]
On January 17, 2019, BlueStacks released a 64-bit version of BlueStacks 4 via its early access program.[24] This version runs on a 64-bit version of Android 7.1.2 which allows for improved performance, and more efficient memory usage. The prerequisites for running this build include running a 64-bit version of Windows 8 or later, with virtualization enabled, and Hyper-V disabled. This 64-bit release allows the installation and usage of ARM64-v8a android applications.
Minimum requirements[edit]
Current minimum requirements for App Player for Windows include: Windows 7 or higher, 2 GB or higher system memory, 5 GB of hard drive space, administrator rights, and an Intel or AMD processor.[6] BlueStacks clashes with the BitDefender antivirus software.[25] An update to the latest graphic card driver version is also recommended.
Minimum requirements for macOS are: macOS Sierra or higher, 4 GB RAM, 4 GB disk space, and a model newer than 2014. Please note that BlueStacks has explicitly said that they have not supported Apple Silicon yet.[26]
GamePop[edit]
On May 9, 2013, the subscription service GamePop was announced.[27] It allows users to play as many as 500 mobile games on TV. On July 23, 2014 Samsung announced [8] it had invested in and was backing GamePop. This brought total outside investment in BlueStacks to $26 million.[28]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^'BlueStacks hits a billion apps used per month and launches new mobile platform'. VentureBeat. December 3, 2015. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- ^'BlueStacks Partners With AMD, Bringing 500,000 Android Apps To Windows PCs'. TechCrunch. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- ^ ab'Bluestacks'. CrunchBase. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020.
- ^Media, Ryan Daws | 19th September 2018 | TechForge (September 19, 2018). 'BlueStacks emulates Android '6x faster' than leading smartphone and is a verified app (safe to download)'. Developer Tech News. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- ^'Download BlueStacks Offline Installer'. Bluestacks - The Best Android Emulator on PC as Rated by You. January 21, 2017. Archived from the original on October 8, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ^ ab'System requirements for BlueStacks 4'. BlueStacks Support. Archived from the original on November 2, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ^'How can I Install and launch BlueStacks on Mac OS?'. BlueStacks Support. Archived from the original on November 2, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ^ abEtherington, Darrell. 'After 10M Downloads, Samsung Backs GamePop As BlueStacks Adds $13M In New Funding'. TechCrunch. Archived from the original on July 24, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
- ^Empson, Rip. 'BlueStacks Releases App Player And Cloud Connect Service To Let You Run Android Apps On Your PC'. TechCrunch. Archived from the original on December 8, 2011. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
- ^Whitney, Lance. 'Android apps can now run on your PC via BlueStacks'. CNET. Archived from the original on December 8, 2011. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
- ^'BlueStacks Features and Comparison'. Bluestacks - The Best Android Emulator on PC as Rated by You. Archived from the original on November 2, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ^'What is Bluestacks?'. Bluestacks - The Best Android Emulator on PC as Rated by You. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ^Rosenblatt, Seth. 'BlueStacks ports Android apps to Mac'. CNET. Archived from the original on June 28, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
- ^'BlueStacks - Did you pre-order the new Macbook?'. www.facebook.com. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ^'Bluestacks Review and Fix Engine issues'. TechnoIliyas. Archived from the original on May 13, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
- ^'BlueStacks 2.0 Launched, Lets You Run Multiple Apps Simultaneously'. NDTV Gadgets 360. Archived from the original on November 2, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ^'Twitch users can now live stream Android games from their PC'. techcrunch.com. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- ^'Stream Android apps on Facebook Live with Bluestacks'. engadget.com. Archived from the original on September 22, 2016. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
- ^'BlueStacks 2 vs. BlueStacks 3 Features'. bluestacks.com. July 30, 2017. Archived from the original on July 30, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ^'Android N Comes to PC; BlueStacks Releases the First Android Gaming Platform Ever to Run Android N'. gamasutra.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
- ^'BlueStacks, an Android emulator for PC, gets an update with major performance upgrade'. gamasutra.com. Archived from the original on September 19, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
- ^Kumar, Rahul (August 19, 2019). 'Is Bluestacks safe for Windows and macOS PC?'. HubsAdda. Archived from the original on August 19, 2019. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
- ^'Release Notes'. BlueStacks Support. Archived from the original on November 4, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
- ^'Join our Discord Server for Early Access Releases and a Great Community'. reddit.com. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
- ^'r/BlueStacks - BlueStack and Bitdefender blocking some XML files'. reddit. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ^'System specifications for installing BlueStacks on macOS'. BlueStacks Support. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
- ^Empson, Rip. 'After 10M Downloads, BlueStacks Takes On OUYA With Game Console And $6.99 All-You-Can-Play Service'. TechCrunch. Archived from the original on June 7, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
- ^'Samsung invests $13M in Android microgaming console GamePop'. CNET. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
External links[edit]
- Official website